


Back and Forth

by Hotcisawesome



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Changing POVs, Dialogue Heavy, Happy Ending, Miscommunication, Multi, Slight depictions of gore, bluepulse OT3, jaime's mother, various other team members
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-12-13 12:39:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11760087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hotcisawesome/pseuds/Hotcisawesome
Summary: When Jaime gets injured on a mission, the Scarab is forced to take over and the team panics. Bart tries to keep the peace as Nightwing tries to get to the bottom of the situation. Through all of this, the scarab needs to heal Jaime, who is in critical condition.





	Back and Forth

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go. I wanted to try my hand at writing these three.
> 
> Jaime's family already knows about Blue Beetle in this. The story switches views between Nightwing, Bart, the scarab, and Jaime. I hope all the points of views are clear enough.

Beta team was under attack. The mission had been to infiltrate a small cabin whose homestyle wooden exterior was hiding four levels of subterranean labs. It traced back to Lex Corp through multiple shell-accounts and the Justice League needed to know what was happening down there. It was supposed to be a simple stealth mission, but when did that ever work out?

The moment Nightwing had attempted to hack the system to open the front door, Poison Ivy's plants sprung up right in front of him, knocking him to the ground. Thick tendrils were now covering the door, while others began to speed towards the team, fast and agile as whips.

The three of them tried to circle around the cabin to simply blast their way in as their cover was blown anyways, but they were being pushed away. Blue Beetle was blasting as many as he could while M'gann manipulated some into knots, but cabin was now writhing with plants on all sides and they had lost 20 feet of ground.

Nightwing had quickly used up his supply of plant-killing agent, leaving one or two shriveled, but the whole area of the forest was now a minefield of homicidal flora.

Assessing all of this, Nightwing decided that the best option would be to call back before anyone got hurt. He ordered a retreat through the mindlink.

The other two agreed and M'gann quickly levitated him upwards. However, before they could clear the reach of the plants, one shot up right towards them and grabbed on to the closest one, which happened to be Blue Beetle.

M'gann was already focused on keeping Nightwing in the air and couldn't manipulate it into letting go. Blue screamed as the vine wrapped around his body, pinning his arms, squeezing as it dragged him back down.

Nightwing ordered M'gann to drop him and help Blue when a terrible cracking noise resounded.

"BLUE!" M'gann yelled as the boy went limp for a second.

Their eyes widened in horror but Blue Beetle seemed to get a second burst of energy and began to struggle more, aiming his plasma cannon as best he could from a pinned position. He managed to succeed enough to get one arm loose, and from there slashed himself free with his scythe.

Dropping to the ground, he quickly spread his wings and shot up to meet them. The three landed a safe 200 feet away. 

"Hey, good job with those plants, Blue!" M'gann said cheerfully.

Blue beetle turned towards the Martian.

"Your _mission_ and lack of proper planning has led to serious injury of Jaime Reyes." He spat back.

M'gann took a step back in fright, "Uhh, Blue?"

Nightwing quickly got between the two teammates.

"It is your fault that this has happened." Blue Beetle hissed, his scythes slowly forming.

"I don't want to have to hurt you, Jaime." Nightwing warned, although he was pretty sure that this was not their friend.

The laugh that came was definitely not Jaime. It was almost metallic, coming more from the suit than Blue. Nightwing's expression hardened.

"I could take down both of you in seconds. The sole reason I hold back is because Jaime Reyes has forbid me from killing you. Yet his so-called teammates, his _friends_ are now the cause of severe spinal fractures and intestines close to the consistency of _jelly_."

The scarab paused in his talking and looked each of the three in the eye. 

"Know that if he does not make it, you will all die by my hands. Slowly. Inefficiently." With that, he spread his wings and flew away.

* * *

"How could we let this happen!?" Nightwing groaned. "We knew that scarab attached to him was bad news. It turned on us one time and now we've let it loose!"

The two of them were now in the bioship, heading back to base.

"Well, with the Reach gone, what's it going to do?" M'gann asked.

"Kill us, apparently." Nightwing huffed.

"Well, he seemed pretty upset about Blue's injuries." M'gann

"True. Although that could just be because he needs a host to function."

When they arrived, Nightwing called a meeting. Conner, Kid Flash, Beast Boy, and Artemis filed in one by one before sitting down.

"Listen up." Nightwing began. "The mission that beta team had went on failed due to poison Ivy's plants and we'll need a properly equipped team for the next time we try. But that is not the main reason I called you here. Blue Beetle was injured and when he lost consciousness, his scarab took control."

The team looked around worriedly, although Kid Flash looked slightly confused.

"He threatened to kill us if Jaime died then flew off. Hopefully with Blue's injuries, it will be focusing power on healing him and its defenses will be lowered, giving us time to get in and save Jaime." Nightwing further explained.

"The scarab won't go down without a fight, it's always itching to take charge." Artemis pointed out.

"Whoa, whoa, who said anything about fighting, shouldn't we try to talk it out first?" Bart asked, eyes wide.

Nightwing nodded. "It would be great if we could do this without violence, but we need to have a backup plan first. We need to figure out a way to put Jaime back in control once we track him down as well as have the firepower to incapacitate the scarab if needed. Let's hope the ritual from the temple will work again, I'll call Zatanna."

Zatanna agreed that the ritual would be their best shot, but she was over in Antarctica on a mission and wouldn't be back for at least two days.

"Last time this happened, it was working as a Reach agent, what do you think it's up to now?" Conner asked. 

"Guys, wasn't the Reach directly in control of Blue, not the scarab? So technically the scarab wasn't the one that turned on us." Bart reminded everyone.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean the scarab wouldn't turn on us if given the chance." Artemis added.

Bart opened his mouth to talk back, but was cut off by M'gann.

"Bart, the scarab isn't Jaime." She told him gently, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"M'gann is right, this being threatened to kill us before flying away and has a history of being extremely violent." Nightwing added on.

"I know Jaime is a good friend of yours and it's awful that this happened, but we'll make a plan and get him back, okay?" He tried to assure the smaller boy.

"Yeah..." Kid Flash said, although his tone was very unconvinced.

"You said that in the future, Blue Beetle would play a huge role in the a Reach apocalypse, right? We stopped him the first time and thought that threat had passed, but what if this is what actually starts it?" Conner said.

Bart now looked uncomfortable, "Umm, yeah I don't think that's it. Like you said, we stopped him one time and at that point he had all the Reach on his side. I don't think he has much chance by himself."

"Couldn't he signal more infiltrators?" Nightwing questioned further.

"Hey! I know the scarab's a bit rough around the edges, but he's not evil!" Bart yelled, standing up.

"I have to go." He said angrily, leaving his chair spinning wildly as he sped off. The group was left at the table, eyes widened in surprise.

Beast Boy was the first to recover. "He's probably just lashing out, I mean, he _was_ just told his best friend was captured and almost dead." 

Nightwing sighed and nodded, that was probably the reason, he knew what it felt like to lose your best friend after all.

* * *

Bart only stopped when he reached his destination; he knocked on the front door of the small house in El Paso. Jaime's mom opened the door.

"Oh, Bart! What a pleasure, Jaime's in his room, although he said he he'll need a few days to recuperate after that last fight. Can you go check on him, he didn't want me to come in." She asked, worried for her son.

"No problem, Mrs. Reyes." Bart said.

He walked to Jaime's room and knocked, "It's Bart, can I come in?"

"...Yes." said a voice from inside.

Bart quickly phased through the locked door and surveyed the scene.

Jaime, in all of his armor, was spread out on the bed, head propped up by a few pillows.

Bart walked up to the bed in horror, "Khaji Da, what happened?"

The amber-tinted eyes narrowed. "Our abdomen was crushed with a force of almost 300 tons."

"Is Jaime going to be alright!?" Bart asked, aghast.

"The repairs will take time. I can mend the bones and spinal cord overnight but the intestines and organs... I estimate 270.4 hours." The Scarab calculated.

"Well... That's a relief." Bart reached out for the armored hand and gave it a squeeze, the scarab did not move away.

"And now the next question. I was told that you threatened to kill M'gann and Nightwing?"

The hand Bart was holding was now close to being crushed, the scarab's hand trying to make a fist.

"Owww, _Khaji Da!_ " Bart whined.

Khaji Da saw what was wrong and let go silently before turning on his side, facing away from Bart.

"Jaime was injured. His mind was screaming in such agony that I was forced to sedate him and take control." Khaji Da whispered.

The speedster laid his hand on the Scarab's shoulder.

"I'm so sorry that you had to go through that. But hey, you're repairing him, you said yourself he should be better in what, 12 days?"

"11.27" 

"See, that's crash! Less than two weeks." Bart said, trying to cheer up the morose being beside him.

Khaji Da turned his head to face Bart, golden eyes fiery with emotion.

"No, not _crash_! I was not quick enough. I did move Jaime Reyes out of harms way in time! My armor is the only thing keeping his insides from spilling out in a bloody pile on the floor! I am supporting nearly every one of his organic systems and am barely able to keep up."

Khaji Da paused speaking again, this time quieter. "I can't lose him..."

"Hey, hey, it's okay. Don't get frustrated. Jaime's in good hands, and he'd be proud with how well you're handling this. I mean, you only threatened the team, you didn't hurt a single one!" Bart said, realizing that now was not the time to chastise the Scarab, he was dealing with a lot of emotions for an emotionless being.

"Infiltrator units were not meant to work through this much damage. If a host was injured to the brink of death, we are supposed to find another host then transfer. I do not know if I will be capable of getting him through this."

"What's the problem?" Bart asked.

"If I cannot get energy, I will not be able to make repairs. And I cannot have him consume food to obtain the energy, seeing as those organs are... Non-functional."

"Couldn't you like, hook up to an outlet?"

Khaji Da immediately shook his head, "No, wrong type of power. The same reason why you cannot electrocute yourself for breakfast."

Bart let out a strangled laugh. Khaji Da's mouth turned up slightly.

"Okay point made. Well how long can you function until you need energy?"

"3.68 days. Although what I am attempting to do is essentially make an artificial device to perform the cellular processes and bypass organic methods to obtain ATP. However, diverting energy to this means that if it fails, his organs will not be fixed at all when I run out of power... He would die."

"What can I do to help?" Bart asked.

"There is a 92 percent chance his incompetent team is devising a way to capture and disable me."

"Yeah, they are."

Khaji Da sighed and continued. "Then you must stop them. As well as inform Jaime Reyes' family about the situation; he does not like to worry them. He says I have "no chill." Khaji Da said, exasperated. Bart could almost see the air quotes.

"I'm on it. You just stay here, focus on repairs. I believe in you, Jaime's going to make a full recovery, he's a tough one." Bart proclaimed. He leaned down and gave Khaji Da a short peck on the lips, just long enough to be returned, before leaving.

In the living room, he found Mrs. Reyes. She looked up hopefully, muting the TV to hear what he had to say.

"So that last fight really took it out of him. Scarab wants him in bed for 10 days."

"Ten! The longest he's asked for was 3, and Jaime had been thrown in _lava_. What happened to my son!?"

"Well he got constricted with several hundred tons of pressure and it was too much for Khaji Da." Bart explained, dancing around the actual injury.

"Where was he constricted?"

"...Abdomen." Bart said, wincing.

Mrs. Reyes gasped, realizing how bad her son's condition was.

"Scarab said he'll be making an artificial devise to break down food to obtain energy. He'll also be in complete control of Jaime since right now he's being kept sedated."

"Can we do anything to help?"

"The most we can do is make sure the team doesn't kill him. Scarab wasn't exactly in a good place and said some things." Bart told her.

Mrs. Reyes groaned. "Like what?"

"Umm, death threats, mostly. But I'm going over to the base right now to try and smooth it out."

Jaime's mother nodded. "Good luck, I'll make sure Khaji Da has everything he needs to start fixing up Jaime."

With that, Bart was pulled in for a tight hug. He left the house with a final wave before taking off.

* * *

At the base, the team was finalizing their plans when the door opened and Kid Flash walked in. Immediately the conversation stopped as everyone looked towards him.

"Um, hey guys..." He said awkwardly.

"Bart, I'm glad you're back. We've come up with some ideas on how to take on the scarab as well as get Blue back in one piece." Nightwing informed him.

"About that, there's something I need to tell you." Bart started.

Taken aback, the team looked at each other in confusion.

Finally, Nightwing spoke up. "Sure KF, what is it?"

"It's about the scarab. You see, I know he made threats at you guys and flew off, but he was just lashing out, he's actually pretty crash and I've, um, beenhangingoutwithhimandJaimeandthethreeofusareallfriends."

That last part became unintelligible as Bart's nervousness made him speed up.

"I'm going to need you to repeat that." Nightwing asked politely.

Bart took a deep breath, "After the Reach threat ended, I spent a lot of time with Jaime to make sure he was okay. I got to know Scarab too, and although he's a bit heartless," Bart bizarrely smiled fondly at this point, "he's a good guy." 

The team was now completely shocked.

"So what you're saying is, you guys are _friends_?" Artemis asked in disbelief.

"Yes." Bart said, nodding along. Nightwing noted that his answer was slightly hesitant.

"And what makes you sure the Scarab doesn't have a secret agenda and he's only doing this to know your weaknesses?" Conner asked.

Bart shrugged, "Well he could have killed me in my sleep whenever I stay over with Jaime but he never has."

"Well, would the scarab be willing to come over and we could talk it out with him directly?" Nightwing asked. If the scarab came of its own accord, that would be great.

"The thing is, Jaime is in really bad shape. I don't think Scarab wants to waste power to fly him over." Bart confessed.

"What if we went to him?" M'gann asked.

Bart's eyes widened, probably as he pictured how that scenario might go. Nightwing agreed, cornering a hostile being could easily cause it to attack and they needed to get Jaime out safely.

"What if we met at a nice, neutral location close to El Paso, perhaps a hospital?" Nightwing suggested.

"Um, yeah that would do." Bart agreed.

"Okay, there's one about ten miles east of Jaime's house, the Wayne Enterprises one?" Bart nodded in recognition.

"Good, ask for room B03. We'll meet you there."

After pointing finger guns, Bart was off as quickly as he came.

Nightwing turned back to the team. "Well that was unexpected. If Bart and Jaime both trust the scarab, it must be for good reasons, but that still doesn't mean we should go in unprepared." With that, they got ready to go to the meet up point.

* * *

"Bart, back so soon! How'd it go?" Mrs. Reyes asked when she opened the door once again to the young speedster.

"The team is willing to hear Khaji out, so we need to bring him to the Wayne Enterprises Hospital right near here. I figured he wouldn't want to be moved too much."

Mrs. Reyes nodded. "I hope it goes well, Scarab is trying to act strong but I can tell that he's stressed. I wouldn't say he regrets what he said, but he's beating himself up that his actions put Jaime in more danger than he's already in."

Bart sighed, "Well I'll go get him."

In Jaime's room, he told Khaji Da about the plan. "It is a trap." was all the response that Bart got. That and a lot of glaring.

"I refuse to put Jaime Reyes in more danger by going to a location where I will be far outnumbered and... outgunned." The scarab said through gritted teeth. It was a hard thing to admit that he was in any way weaker than his opponents.

"Well the team expects us to show. Not going would just make them trust you less and come looking for you. Wouldn't it be better to meet at least somewhat on our terms?" Bart tried to convince the scarab.

After contemplating for a few seconds, Khaji Da agreed very, very reluctantly. 

"Crash! So should we ask Mrs. Reyes for a ride?"

* * *

When Jaime's mom pulled up next to the hospital, Bart looked at Khaji Da. "Do you want me to go grab a wheelchair so you don't have to strain yourself?"

"No. I will not show weakness if I can avoid it. And walking hardly takes much energy."

With that, Khaji Da unbuckled and exited the car. Bart sighed and got out as well. "Thank you for the ride, Mrs. Reyes." Khaji Da inclined his head in agreement.

"Be safe, boys! I'll stay close as the get-away vehicle!"

Bart grinned widely. He loved Jaime's mom! As she drove away to find a parking spot, he turned to the scarab and linked their arms. Khaji Da glared.

"Pleeease? It's for moral support, dontcha want to be close to your boyfriend?" Bart pouted.

"Now is not the time."

Bart huffed and let go. The two then walked into the hospital together, hands slightly brushing.

Inside, they went to the front desk and Bart asked for room B03. The lady at the desk smiled and pressed an intercom button. "They'll be on their way." With that she led them down a few hallways and up a flight of stairs. Stopping at a door that seemed exactly the same as the others, the woman swiped her card and held it open for the two of them.

As soon as it was opened wide enough, Bart sped in as fast as he could go, taking in all the team, just beginning to turn to look at the door. Nightwing's eyes were beginning to blink. Bart checked all he could in the room and the two joining ones, a meeting room and a bathroom. He didn't find anything that seemed like a weapon but with the team, that didn't mean anything. Either way, almost three tenths of a second had passed and he needed to get back before anyone caught on to what he was doing.

Nightwing finished blinking. "Glad you could make it." He said as the two stepped through. Bart smirked internally, they didn't suspect a thing.

* * *

"Crash. What now?" Bart asked.

Nightwing turned to the scarab before replying, taking him in. He could now easily tell the difference between the stances of this creature and Jaime Reyes in the armor. The scarab wore Jaime proudly, coldly. Standing tall and keeping a straight face.

"And you must be Scarab."

"Yes."

Not so much of a talker now. "Well, now that we're all here, I think it would be good to talk things out, seeing as we got off on the wrong foot earlier."

Nightwing directed the two to the connected room, which held the big conference table. The team members followed.

Seating clearly showed the divide. Nightwing, Artemis, Conner, and M'gann sat on one side, with Bart and his _friend_ on the other.

Bart was glancing nervously at everyone. The scarab didn't seem to reveal any emotions. How could Jaime stand for this creature to be stuck to his back? They should have worked harder to get it removed. But now what not the time for looking back at could-have-beens.

After a few seconds of the Scarab staring unblinkingly at them from across the table, assessing everyone, Nightwing realized neither it nor Bart was going to be speaking any time soon. 

"Alright, well. Let's start off with the fact that you threatened the team." He began.

"That is correct." The scarab answered.

"So you don't regret it?" Artemis asked.

The first flicker of emotion showed on the armor. Anger. Nightwing shifted slightly, better gearing himself in case of attack.

"In doing so, I have put Jaime Reyes in danger."

"How so?" M'gann asked.

This caused the scarab to glare, "I was brought here against my warnings that you four obviously have a plan to incapacitate me. Know that if that happens Jaime Reyes will die."

The corners of Nightwing's mouth tightened. Jaime _was_ being used as a threat. If they make a move against the scarab, he would kill Blue.

"Whoa, whoa! What Scarab means to say is that if you guys shut him down, he won't be able to provide life-support to Jaime. They're a package deal." Bart butted in, worriedly looking between Nightwing and the scarab.

"Well then it looks like none of us want Jaime to die." Artemis said.

The scarab nodded.

"And you'll let him go once you finish healing him?" Conner asked.

"Yes."

"How do we know that?" Nightwing asked.

The scarab moved to stand and in a second, those on Nightwing's side of the table were up and in a fighting stance. The situation diffused however when Bart reached up and gently grabbed the scarab's arm without fear, pulling him down. Surprisingly, the scarab let him.

"Now Da, let's not do anything we'd regret. Jaime is counting on you." Nightwing's suit picked up on the whispered conversation between the two. _Da_?

It was surprising to see Bart so calm around the scarab. When the boy had said they were friends, he had assumed acquaintances, forced to get to know each other, but this? Nightwing let all of this slip through the mind link that the four of them had set up before hand.

The scarab was now sitting down again, expression sour but not angry anymore. Bart still had a hand on his arm, but he drew it away once the others had sat down as well.

"My word is all I can give." The scarab said dryly.

"And I'll vouch for him!" Bart added.

"Well that's great, but you still threatened M'gann and Nightwing which isn't exactly trustworthy behavior." Artemis pointed out.

"The threat was... uncalled for. I was in a... bad place." The scarab ground out. It sounded more like someone else's words than his own.

"Is that how you truly feel, not someone else's words?" M'gann asked.

Bart answered this one. "Look, Scarab really cares for Jaime even if he'd rather kiss the Reach ambassador than admit it. He was just upset that you guys put Blue in a situation where he got hurt as badly as he did." 

[What should we ask now?] Artemis asked telepathically.

[Ask about Jaime's condition.] M'gann responded.

"How bad is it?" Zatanna asked.

Bart wilted. "Pretty bad. Scarab's doing all he can though."

The team looked at the scarab.

"He should be functional in less than two weeks. From there he can go back to throwing himself towards death on a daily basis in your futile attempts to cull the evils of society. Non-lethally of course, allowing criminals, fear-mongers, and dictators to come back again and again."

Bart groaned and face-palmed.

[What a ray of sunshine.] Artemis said, sarcastically.

[Two weeks is good. Let's hope we can get him to stay with us at the base so we'll be able to watch him. From there we wait until Jaime is good and see if the scarab let's him go. If not, we'll be ready.] Nightwing declared.

"For these two weeks, would it be okay for you to stay at the base, the technology there far surpasses anything available in hospitals for this situation." Nightwing asked aloud.

"And my capabilities far surpass yours. I will return to Jaime Reyes' home to complete the repairs."

Surprising everyone, Bart whacked the Scarab about the head and only got a glare in response.

"What he meant to say was, 'thank you, yes I'd love to.' Isn't that right?" Bart said happily.

The team watched as the scarab glared at the shorter boy. Bart began pouting.

"I hate you." The scarab finally said in a monotonous voice.

Bart smiled widely.

[What just happened?] M'gann asked.

[Who cares, I think we just got what we wanted.] Artemis said.

From there, the team awkwardly got up and walked to the exit. Conner, M'gann, and Artemis went to the bioship, Nightwing followed Bart and the scarab over to their car. 

Nightwing had barely noticed Bart had sped away before he was back.

"She'll be here in a minute." _What?_ Who?

Nightwing looked around a few times until he saw a car approaching from the parking lot. Inside was Jaime's mother, which he recognized from Blue's file. They had gotten a ride here?

Mrs. Reyes was a kind woman, and she seemed perfectly comfortable with talking to the scarab, even asking what music channel he'd prefer. Perhaps he needed to reevaluate the assumptions he had made about the scarab because this was nothing like he'd expected. 

"I have no preference. Play what you would like." Was the response.

"If you insist." She said as she turned on a fast paced Spanish song. 

Bart began tapping along.

The ride to the zeta tube was a short one and as Mrs. Reyes drove away, the three of them waved, including Scarab. Overall the whole experience was incredibly bizarre to Nightwing, it had been so _normal._

At the base, Bart asked if the two of them could go to their rooms.

Nightwing agreed. The rooms themselves may not have surveillance, but the rest of the place did, with fast enough equipment to register a speedster. He'd know if they went anywhere else, or decided to sneak off. Although now he wasn't so sure that was going to happen.

As they left, he went into the monitor room. Jaime and Bart's rooms were right next to each other so they walked together, saying nothing. Yet they did not split up from there, instead both entering Jaime's room. Neither left until the next day, Bart slowly slipping out to go to the morning meeting.

* * *

In the safety of Jaime Reyes' room, and after he had scanned to make sure there were no surveillance systems, they were free to talk.

But first, Bart made sure Khaji was comfortable on the bed, head inclined like before.

The scarab took in a deep breath. It was always a struggle to remember to breathe, he was not used to running both himself and Jaime Reyes. He wondered how fully-activated infiltrator units did it. What would it be like to be the only mind in the body permanently, the other voice shoved aside and chained down? He frowned, it did not seem appealing at all.

He was shaken from his contemplation when Bart Allen laid down next to him. "Is this okay?"

Khaji Da nodded.

"You did great back there by the way." Bart praised.

"Cooperation with these people is not ideal but it is the best chance to make sure Jaime Reyes will be safe."

"How... how is he?" Bart asked, his voice going quiet.

"He is dreaming. I have been keeping him regularly sedated."

"I guess that's good... What about the device you're building?"

Khaji Da smiled at that. "It is going very well. It will be easy to replicate the stomach acids so I will save that for last."

Bart nodded. "My main worries were glycolysis and the Kreb's cycle, that the processes would be too intricate. However, instead of starting from scratch I attempted to reinvigorate some of Jaime Reyes' cells that I currently have kept in stasis; they are all very damaged, but not decaying."

"Yeah decaying would be bad." Bart commented.

The scarab continued, "I have been able to revive on average 2 in 5 cells to original output so with enough cells harvested, I should easily begin output before I run out of power. With the failed cells, well, Jaime Reyes will have a lot more outfits when he wakes up." (see end notes)

The young speedster snickered.

Eventually he sobered up, turning to look at Khaji Da.

"How are _you_ feeling?" Bart asked seriously.

He sighed. "It is quiet without Jaime Reyes."

Bart lightly grabbed his hand. "You said yourself, things are looking up. Let's not worry too much."

The two laid together in silence for a while, Bart staring at the ceiling. Khaji had closed his eyes and focused close to all of his processing power internally. That did not mean he was unaware of Bart getting up to turn off the light or wiggling under the blankets next to him, hand across his armored chest, right above the heart.

* * *

The next three days were tense. After the first night, Nightwing had planned to have the team members watch the scarab in shifts, but apparently the scarab wasn't too happy with that.

Bart had come up to him nervously and told him what was wrong. "Scarab needs to shut down most of his functions to heal Jaime. He doesn't want to be in a room with someone hostile where he can't protect them."

Nightwing sighed and went over to talk to it.

As he entered Jaime's room, he saw the armored body of Jaime lying on the bed, still as stone. However, as soon as he got within two feet of the bed, the eyes opened. Golden irises becoming visible.

"I told the Impulse that I wished not to be disturbed."

"Well, I want my team to be safe."

"If you are worried that I will attack, allow me to leave, I am only here to satisfy Bart Allen's request. I must heal Jaime Reyes which requires all my focus. I cannot keep getting interrupted."

Nightwing thought about it. It was true that the scarab hadn't attacked anyone, and he seemed very adamant that Blue was his only concern.

"Why do you care so much about Jaime, couldn't you find another host if he's so injured?"

This caused the scarab to bare his teeth, making Nightwing instantly regret angering him. Not that he showed it.

"Jaime Reyes means more to me than a mere host. We are partners."

"But is that what Jaime wants?" Nightwing pressed. He still remembered the hateful way that Blue talked about the scarab, wanting to get it off and always having to restrain it from killing anyone who so much as came too close to him.

"The scarab's voice was less sure as he continued. "Even if Jaime Reyes did not want me, I am the only thing keeping him alive at the moment."

Nightwing didn't respond.

"I am going back to healing him now." The scarab said monotonously before retreating back into himself, the eyes closing, and his body once again becoming inanimate.

Nightwing left with a sigh. After the short conversation, he had decided that the scarab did indeed care about Jaime, although possibly due to deluding himself about Jaime's feelings towards him.

He frowned. This was not the situation he'd started with and while wasn't ideal, working with this creature meant getting Jaime back, so it would have to do.

* * *

Khaji Da was busy restructuring molecules to form NADH when his background sensors picked up someone approaching. Did people not understand his wish of solitude?

He split some of his processing power to deal with it.

When he opened his eyes, he took in the form of Bart Allen. Much better than the other options he supposed.

"Hey, Khaji Da. Nightwing came to me about a few things, and I just want to tell you that Jaime absolutely agrees that the two of you are partners. He cares about you." Bart Allen said softly.

Khaji Da grimaced. The words of Nightwing had indeed been infuriating. He knew nothing of the situation. Not that he would normally care, what Jaime Reyes chose to do with his own life should not be Nightwing's concern. But hearing him suggest that Jaime did not want him was hard.

"I know he does." The scarab responded with eventually.

"Crash. Well I just wanted to check in, sorry for disturbing you. I'm going to go on patrol now."

"Stay safe." Khaji Da said unhappily. He wished he could go and keep Bart Allen safe himself, but he was in no condition to do so.

With a little wave goodbye, he was left alone again. As he slipped back into his work, he thought about Jaime Reyes. How they'd talk back and forth, insults and compliments passing between them. Long hours filled with video games where Jaime would let the scarab control his hands. The two of them learning how to coexist. The nights where Jaime Reyes begged to be closer to him. Nightwing knew nothing.

* * *

The third day was upon them and Bart had warned Nightwing that this day would be critical. If the scarab's device didn't work and he ran out of power, Jaime would die.

Nightwing was there to monitor. He figured that if the device worked, the scarab would no longer need Jaime to give him power. Although he now considered the scarab turning evil to be a long-shot, he wasn't willing to risk it.

So as he and Bart watched, the scarab carefully took a bite of an apple.

After a few seconds, "I was successful. I will need approximates 4,821 calories as well as nine cups of water per day."

"I can hook you up." Bart promised.

"None of that carcinogen-rich substance you deem food."

"Fine, more for me." Bart said, arms crossed.

Nightwing sighed. "I'll buy the food, and I'll make sure it's not too processed."

Over the next few days, Nightwing got daily status reports from the scarab. Six of the eleven days had passed and Jaime was well on his way to recovery.

The scarab did not talk much besides explain which of his organs were being regrown at the time. Nightwing was pleased that things were going so well and without violence.

On the ninth day, Nightwing made the mistake of asking why the room was so full of clothes.

Finally, it was the end of day ten and Scarab had informed him that he had finished all the internal repairs. From there he had to heal the bones and spinal cord breakage. Apparently it wasn't a pretty process.

Even so, Bart wanted to be with him. Throughout the days that Scarab was here, Nightwing was constantly surprised by how well the two got along. He knew how close Jaime and Bart were, and he realized that these two were probably just as close, if only in private. 

On the last day, Scarab told him that he'd be taking Jaime off of the sedatives. He even said he'd allow the team to be there for when he woke up.

That night, the whole team gathered around Jaime's bed.

"He is gaining consciousness. Do not strain him." Were the Scarab's final words before slipping away. It was not the same as it had been the past few days, instead of becoming frozen still, Jaime's body went limp.

The team watched as the armor slowly pulled away, revealing a pair of light blue pajamas.

Almost fifteen minutes passed before there was any movement, but they still waited with baited breath. Bart was right by Jaime's side, very obviously restraining himself from holding his hand.

Finally, his fingers twitched. His body began the signs of waking up. His eyes moved under his eyelids, until they half-opened.

* * *

Jaime wasn't sure what just happened, but he felt both invigorated and like crap at the same time. He was lying down. What had happened yesterday?

He closed his eyes, planning to go back to sleep when,

[Jaime Reyes. You have been unconscious for 11.82 days. Bart and the team are worried for you.]

"What!" He yelled and jolted up.

He looked around at what was definitely not his room back home. Surrounding him where his teammates, now looking very relieved.

"Jaime!" He looked to his left and suddenly had Bart flinging himself at him.

"Hey, ese. Um, what's going on?" He said, as Bart hugged him very carefully, which was weird.

"You got injured on our mission to infiltrate the Lex Corp." M'gann answered.

"The scarab said I was out for almost 12 days?" He asked.

"Yeah you were hurt pretty bad, but Scarab fixed you right up." Best Boy told him.

Jaime nodded, hoping his gratefulness could be felt by Khaji Da.

[You are welcome, Jaime Reyes.]

"Now that you're conscious, I say you take a few days to rest, maybe stay here at the base until you're sure you're fully recovered." Nightwing suggested.

"Sounds like a plan. I kinda just want to sleep more." He confided.

With that, the team left, saying that it was good to have him back. Eventually, Bart was the only one remaining.

After he locked the door, Bart crawled right in next to him, wrapping around Jamie's body like an octopus.

"I was really worried for you, Jaime..."

"What exactly happened?" Jaime asked after giving Bart a quick kiss. Although with how everyone was reacting, he was kinda worried to hear the answer.

"You guts basically got squished to a pulp, Scarab had to recreate all of them. Khaji Da also had to take full control of you so the team was pretty freaked out."

"Khaji, you did all that for me? You _interacted_ with _people?_ " He teased.

[I would do anything for you, Jaime Reyes.] was the response, as well as the armor wrapping around his torso briefly: his version of a hug.

"You're adorable." Jaime informed the scarab.

"Khaji Da did so good, Jaime. He didn't hurt any of them, he even agreed to stay here and let Nightwing check up on you."

"What a gentleman." Jaime was smiling a lot now. He had his two favorite people with him, he wasn't dead, the team didn't want to kill Khaji Da. He fell asleep curled up next to Bart, Khaji Da humming behind him.

* * *

Nightwing and the team left the room, minus Bart.

"Well that went well." M'gann said cheerefully.

"Yeah! We got Blue back, no evil scarab!" Beast Boy added on.

Nightwing nodded. He was extremely happy that nothing had went wrong, yet he still wasn't sure about the scarab now possibly having a way to power himself. He'd have to talk to Jaime about it once he was better rested.

An opportunity eventually presented itself the next day when Blue came shuffling into the kitchen going to the pantry to grab a bag of chips. Nightwing got up from the kitchen table to go talk with him. 

"Yeah, yeah. But I was out for 12 days, I deserve a treat." Jaime said to no one. To _Scarab_ Nightwing corrected himself.

"Jaime, do you have a moment to talk?" Nightwing asked.

"Sure." The two of them sat down at the table.

"We're all very glad to have you back, but we want to make sure you're safe. We were worried that the scarab wouldn't let you go."

Jaime got defensive at that, "Well why wouldn't he?"

"Well, he had complete control, it seemed like if he wanted, the scarab could have kept you sedated permanently and..."

"And what, turn evil?" Now Jaime was clearly upset. The sound of crushed chips resounded as Jaime clenched his fist.

"Scarab's not like that."

He then turned quiet for a second. "Okay, it's your choice."

And now Nightwing was panicking internally because Jaime's eyes were golden. The scarab straightened up in the chair. It was bizarre to see him without the armor.

"I have grudgingly worked with you because it is what Jaime Reyes wants. My mission is to protect him and I will stand by his judgements. He wants to be part of this team but neither he nor I will stand for us being treated as a constant threat."

Nightwing frowned. "Please let me talk to Jaime again."

The golden eyes faded away in a blink.

"You heard him yourself, he's not a threat. He's the other half of Blue Beetle and if you can't trust him, you can't trust me. You literally saw how he fixed me up from death's door and you still think he has it out for me!?"

Nightwing had the decency to feel ashamed, yet he wanted to make sure Blue knew he was telling him all of this for good reason.

"Jaime, I'm just trying to make sure you're safe. I don't care if we lose Blue Beetle, I want to make sure _you're_ okay with being stuck in this relationship."

"Relationship?" The color drained from Blue's face.

"You had no choice getting this creature stuck to you. You say you're fine with it but are you sure you're not deluding yourself over how much he's on your side?"

"I trust Khaji Da with my life."

"Khaji Da?"

"His. Name." Jaime said, baring his teeth as he spoke.

The two stared across from each other, Jaime's gaze much closer to a glare.

Finally, Nightwing backed down. "Okay, Jaime. Just know that if you change your mind, we're here to help. You don't have to deal with this on your own."

"I appreciate your offer, but Scarab stays with me." With that, he backed his chair out and walked away.

* * *

Jaime stormed into his room.

[Thank you.]

Jaime sighed. "He shouldn't have talked about you like that. And you know I'd never get rid of you."

[You've tried before.] Jaime could feel hurt tinging the words.

"And I feel awful about that now. It's just that you were _really_ hard to work with, ese."

[I still do not understand you heros' non-lethal approach, it is obviously ineffective.]

"It's about being the better person."

[A better person would remove these villains permanently, to stop them from causing harm.]

"Ahh, you're impossible." Jaime laughed. "But I still love you."

[I return the sentiment.]

* * *

As the days passed, Nightwing soon became less on-guard with Blue. He even began to see how differently Jaime acted since he had first met him. Less yelling at himself, more quiet conversations.

Nightwing had walked past the base's small rec room one night to see Bart and Jaime playing, yet when he heard them, he realized it was Bart and Khaji Da.

"You're going down, bug!"

"Your attacks are impulsive and poorly planned."

He kept walking.

When it was Jaime and Bart, the two were almost inseparable and always seemed to be touching. The team wondered when the they would finally get together.

Nightwing however, was pretty sure he knew the truth. He was observant enough to see the signs. The three of them, yes three, already had something. They kept to themselves because it was no one else's business and he decided that since it wasn't harming anyone, it would remain no one else's business way unless they wanted it differently.

**Author's Note:**

> In the comics, Jaime's clothes got burned up when the suit activated, so instead Khaji Da used waste products to form clothes that dissolved and reformed when the armor came on and off. I know, gross right? Honestly I loved the comics (2006 and 2011 versions.)
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it! Sorry that there weren't many scenes of the three of them together.


End file.
